2013 Spring Sports in Review: A spring of firsts for Tigers and Unified Volleyball

By Mike Whaley

mwhaley@fosters.com

fosters.com

By Mike Whaley

mwhaley@fosters.com

Posted Jul. 4, 2013 at 3:15 AM

By Mike Whaley

mwhaley@fosters.com

Posted Jul. 4, 2013 at 3:15 AM

ROCHESTER — It was a spring of sporting firsts.

The Spaulding High School Unified Volleyball team won the sports first NHIAA championship and Farmington High School advanced to the Division III semifinals, the furthest the Tigers have advanced in the NHIAA era.

It was a busy first round at the Spaulding High sporting complex as both the baseball and softball teams ended up playing back-to-back at home and winning. The softball team broke open a close game to beat Merrimack, 8-3, while the baseball team jumped out early to rock Bedford, 10-2.

Both Red Raider teams lost in the quarters. The baseball team was blanked by Pinkerton, 4-0, while the softball lost on the road at Salem, 3-0.

In track and field, Spaulding sophomore Anna Noble was second in the 300-meter hurdles at the Meet of Champions, while freshman Kelsey Glidden was sixth in the 100. Both advanced to the New England championships in Connecticut.

While the limelight was on the Farmington softball team, the tiger baseball team was turning itself around. Farmington went from 2-16 to 11-7 and a berth in the D-III playoffs.

Over in Milton, both the Nute baseball and softball teams made the playoffs.

The Red Raider Unified Volleyball team beat Pembroke, 2 to 1, for the inaugural crown. Spaulding unified teams also won a soccer state title (2011) and were runners-ups in soccer (2012) and basketball (2013).

For Farmington softball it was history in the making. The Tigers went 16-4 overall winning playoff games over Hopkinton (2-1) and Conant (4-0) before falling in the semifinals to unbeaten defending champion White Mountains, 2-1.

The Tigers were led by sophomore ace pitcher Jennelle Thompson,a D-III first team all-state pick, who no-hit Hopkinton and limited Conant to three hits. Farmington was 10-2 in one-run games. Seniors Kelsey Gregoire, Kayla Comeau and Angela Connolly played pivotal roles in the team’s success.

The Farmington baseball team lost in the second round of the D-III tournament at Winnisquam, 5-2, surrendering five unearned runs in the fifth inning after building an early 5-2 lead. It was an impressive turnaround for the Tigers who came off one of the worst seasons in program history to win 11 games.

The Nute softball team made a late-seasons urge and nearly upset No. 5 Moultonborough in the first round of the D-IV playoffs, falling, 5-4. The Rams went 6-10, but were 4-3 down the wire after a 2-7 start.

The Nute baseball team fell at No. 1 Littleton in the first round of the D-III tournament, 11-3. The Rams went 3-13.

Noble had an outstanding track and field season for Spaulding. In addition to her superb effort at the MOC, she was third in the 300 hurdles at the D-I meet and fourth in the 100 hurdles. Stephanie Elliot was fourth in the shot put at the D-I meet.

The Spaulding softball team, led by seniors Gabby Connelly, Emma Rhodes and Ali Trueworthy and junior Sami West, advanced to the D-I quarts and had an overall record of 14-6 after a 1-3 start.

The Spaulding baseball team started 6-0 and finished at 12-8, hosting a first-round playoff game for the first time since 2007. Sophomore Josh Gagne pitched well in the first-round win over Bedford.

It was a senior-ladened team, led by Zach Poisson, Mark Leahy, Alex Gray and Michael Bellio.